Paradise Picnic Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park
Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program and Architectural Resources Group. 2022. Paradise Picnic Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 976213. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Paradise Picnic Area straddles the border of Pierce and Lewis counties in Washington State, approximately 70 miles southeast of Tacoma, Washington, and 20 miles east of Ashford, in the southern portion of Mount Rainier National Park. Centered around the iconic namesake active volcano, Mount Rainier National Park covers over 236,000 acres in the Cascade Mountains, the vast majority of which are designated as preserved wilderness. In addition to the mountain and its alpine glacial environment, Mount Rainier National Park boasts a variety of subalpine ecosystems, including dense old growth forests, subalpine meadows, and glacial valleys associated with several significant watersheds for the Puget Sound region, including the Paradise, Cowlitz, Nisqually, Puyallup, and White rivers. Paradise Picnic Area is located on the southern slope of Mount Rainier, near the popular Paradise Inn (1916) and the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center (2008), and due west of Barn Flats. It is accessed by Nisqually to Paradise Road, which connects the Nisqually Entrance at the west side of the park to the Paradise Developed Area (including Paradise Inn and the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center) and to Stevens Canyon Highway. In turn, Stevens Canyon Highway connects to State Route 123 on the east side of the park. Paradise Picnic Area is a good and intact example of National Park Service (NPS) Mission 66-era development in Mount Rainier National Park. The area was targeted for development under Mission 66 due to its location near the Paradise Developed Area, one of the park’s most popular visitor destinations, and the need to provide more visitor parking and day-use facilities including picnicking and restroom facilities. Elements associated with this era of development, which were primarily constructed between 1964 and 1966, include the picnic area, four comfort stations, and the internal circulation (roadways) and parking network.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program; Architectural Resources Group
- Date of Issue
- 2022-09-29
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- MORA , PWR
- Keywords
- architecture, day use, entertainment, mission 66, paradise, park service modern, picnic area, recreation
- Subjects
- NPS.gov Subject Site: Cultural Landscapes , CRIS-CL: 976213: Paradise Picnic Area